


Inescapable Love

by Kuya



Category: Bleach
Genre: Happy Ending, Idiots in Love, M/M, Two Idiots Being Idiots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-12
Updated: 2015-09-21
Packaged: 2018-03-30 04:26:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3922831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kuya/pseuds/Kuya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Renji and Byakuya are found by love. Fortunately for them, they agree on disagreeing. OR: In which they hook up repeatedly before getting the cue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> In most stories about those two, Renji is the one wagging his tail at Byakuya, Byakuya being the cool, stoic one who needs to be coaxed, persuaded and Renji being the one doing the coaxing, persuading. So I wanted to do something a little different.
> 
> Absolutely not to be taken too seriously.
> 
> If you´re here for the sexy times, skip to the third chapter.

Dancing. What they´d been doing could best be described as dancing. Dancing around each other, that was. And as painfully aware of that fact as Renji was, it wasn’t like he was going to change anything.

Not over his dead body.

It wasn’t like he‘d wished to feel this way after all. To _feel_ for the one person he´d despised most in his life.

And that meant something, considering his history. Ain’t that many decent people wandering the streets of Inuzuri.

First, he had simply hated Byakuya. It had been the deep, calm, strangely fulfilling kind. But the hatred had later become mixed in with more burning, pressing feelings, revenge mixed with a twisted kind of need to surpass the man. It had been his selfish, bratty thinking that by surpassing the man who had taken from him the only happiness left in his life, it would somehow re-earn him the right to be by said happiness’ side again. That he could win Rukia back.

How naïve he‘d been. Not only had he not been able to win one fight against the arrogant bastard – coming out of their single to-the-death fight bloodied to the point of incognizance – his sentiments towards the guy, the guy who had treated him like complete trash from the moment they´d met, had actually changed into something even more… _passionate_ as the years went by.

Some all-seeing entity out there was laughing its ass off at the joke that was his life.

He couldn‘t exactly pinpoint the time negative emotions had shifted to, well, _different_ negative ones (in his opinion, anyway), but he knew one thing for sure: He sure as hell didn’t like what he was feeling.

Too bad nobody bothered to ask for his opinion. No matter how much he‘d bristled and resisted, had ignored the quickening of his pulse, tightness in his chest and pearling of sweat on his upper lip at the mere _presence_ of the man, and had flat-out refused to accept the situation at hand, it had been a meaningless struggle.

And eventually he‘d been forced to admit to the fact that, however much he hated the idea, he was hopelessly, irreparably, _infuriatingly_ in love with his captain.

\--

For the first time in his life, Kuchiki Byakuya felt something akin to mortal fear. And it was not the thrilling anticipation that accompanied a good battle.

Not that anyone perceived a thing, of course. It was indignation enough as it was, even without other people witnessing his inner failings and feeling the need to partition in his private life. Private being the key word.

The reason for this degrading state he currently had the misfortune to find himself in was a certain vulgar, uncivilized, brash, amazingly redheaded and entirely good-looking lieutenant of his.

It was all very aggravating, indeed.

Despite the graveness of the situation, he had handled these unseemly notions he had begun to harbor for his second-in-command fairly well, if he may say so himself, the professional distance he generally opted to kept between himself and others and his general antipathy for sentimentalities as well as the expression of said ones no doubt working to his advantage.

That was until _the incident_. He couldn’t bring himself to get any more specific than that, not even in his thoughts. It was too shameful a chapter and at the same time a reminder that, despite his family’s continuous and ardent efforts, his tendency towards impulsiveness had survived – possibly even thrived.

Luckily, Renji too, had never voiced _the incident_ again. It could be considered an unspoken pact between the two of them. And if Byakuya had any say in it, it would stay that way exactly.

But despite all self-disciplining, despite however much loath to it and however much he was unable to wrap his mind around exactly _why_ he entertained such notions, the noble had to concede to holding romantic feelings for his vice-captain.

Of course, admitting to such feelings in the privacy of his mind was one thing, acting upon them another entirely. That was entirely out of the thinkable and acceptable, just letting his mind drift there left him with a distinct feeling of dizziness.

He put the sentiment down as another symptom of the sickness he seemed to be suffering of lately. A sickness that caused him to stare into space (or, at unfortunate times, at Renji) for hours. Byakuya comforted himself with the fact that, at the very least, the illness seemed to have weakened his body to an extent that now he found himself capable of sleeping through the nights, the nightmares he had gotten used to after the passing of his beloved wife not disturbing his rest anymore on a near-regular basis.

However, his body‘s intense reaction to the mere nearness of the other party was disturbing, to say the very least. He couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable by it, not able to shake off the impression that his body wouldn’t obey his command anymore. It was a feeling he repulsed with all of his heart and it was enough to render any and all possibilities of a successful... _something_ with the redhead, however small they had been in the first place, equal to zero.

Byakuya chose to ignore the subsequent stinging in his chest.

So, keeping their ‘pact’ and his point of view in mind, his astonishment at his own affirmation when Renji asked him through gritted teeth if they could talk was entirely reasonable.

Especially since the other man‘s body language seemed to be asking for a fight rather than for conversation.

It did not explain, though, why he did not feel all that surprised and taken aback when they did not, in fact, talk but kiss. Although he would not have been able to explain, if asked, how exactly they had gotten to this point. But somehow, right this moment, that did not seem a question so urgently in need of answering as it might have should. Definitively have should.

Perhaps the lack of coherent thought in his mind was to blame.

But when he had said they were kissing, it wasn’t a proper description of current events. It was true that their lips were pressed together, something that by definition would be labeled as kissing, but it was not in this case.

Not in the least.

Kissing normally entailed a certain degree of romanticism and should take place after proper, elaborate courtship. What was currently taking place between them could by no means be described as romantic and, needless to say, no wooing had occurred, unless one counted angry, longing stares, traded from a safe distance.

It was more like the crashing of two forces, their battling. Only, that instead of swords and kidou, they fought with their bodies. They fought using their tongues, their teeth, their _hands_ , letting them roam over each other’s bodies in a frantic quest for friction and reactions, both trying to be the first to find the other’s sensitive spots, to dominate, to make _submit_. It was nothing like sweet, gentle caresses. It was yanking, pressing, tugging, clawing, _biting_.

And then it was over as quickly as it had started, the breathy sighs, the silent gasps and bitten-back moans, the low grunts and whispered curses giving way to awkward silence.

Neither knew what to say or what to make of what had just occurred, deliberately avoiding the other’s gaze.

So they did the most self-evident thing: They dressed and went their separate ways without sparing the other so much as a second glance.


	2. Chapter 2

Byakuya silently offered him his hakama. Renji took it equally mute, giving the other a curt nod.

It had happened again. Renji had lost count of how many times it already had. And it was always the same pattern: They jumped each other, groped and fumbled and stroked to climax with a kind of desperate, animalistic need and then re-dressed in awkward silence. At least by now they didn’t bother avoiding each other for the rest of the day anymore afterwards. But that was probably just because they had gotten used to this, something he wasn’t sure he was glad about and _was_ pretty sure Byakuya wasn’t.

Not that they had actually ever talked about any of this. Duh. But he saw it in the way Byakuya avoided looking at him, in the way he hid his face whenever possible and in the fiery, roaring eyes whenever he couldn’t.

"Renji."

So they were talking now?

"Taichou?" Renji searched for the other’s eyes and found them fixed firmly on the floor. Byakuya looked perfectly uncomfortable. And Renji didn’t like it. He could somehow feel exactly where this was going.

"Perhaps… it would be advisable for us to... talk." Good grief everything but that. "Since I do not think it would be wise to continue down this path." Damn, how much he hated when Byakuya was right.

"Hai," he managed, snapping to attention and feeling stupid about it a second later.

\--

But even if all that was determined, despite having been the one to approach Renji, Byakuya was at an utter loss for words. He linked his fingers together, which, to his distain, he found trembling slightly. "I… am at a loss at how to place… this," he finally admitted reluctantly, gesturing to the space between Renji and himself. "But it seems that, whatever my wishes, you have grown to be more than a mere fukutaichou."

Byakuya couldn’t bring himself to get any more specific than that, he just couldn’t. Instead, he looked up to gauge Renjis’s reaction. Renji‘s face looked... interesting. Almost angry on one hand but very intense, _predatory_ on the other.

Byakuya swallowed drily.

\--

Renji didn‘t know what to make of this, really didn‘t know. Byakuya had confessed like he‘d been forced to make the least pleasant choice of his life.

Complete turn-on.

"So, what, we’re in a relationship now?" Byakuya flinched slightly but then nodded, if hesitatingly. Renji prodded deeper. "Ya know what being in a relationship means, don’t you? We gotta hold hands, be all merry and cuddly… "Did Byakuya cringe at that? "... start calling each other nicknames…" yep, definitively cringing "... and finish each other‘s sentences."

Byakuya looked more ready to punch him in the face than call him by a nickname. Renji grinned, satisfied.

"There is no way," Byakuya began, losing his cool, "that–" he hesitated, "–but, given the circumstances, it might be acceptable for you to call me by my given name, provided we are in private, of course.” Renji studied the noble and saw that this was as far as Byakuya would go.

And then the absurdity of the situation hit him and – god help him – he burst out laughing in front of a gawking Byakuya.

They definitively made the weirdest couple in the Soul Society - scratch that, in all three worlds.

"Renji, I…," Byakuya started, upset. Renji made a shooing noise, walked towards Byakuya and, after a moment’s hesitation, wrapped his arms around the noble. "Already regrettin‘ your decision, babe?" The answer was a heavy outburst of reiatsu and if looks could kill but Renji just chuckled and leaned down to steal a kiss from his brand new lover.

At least he was drop dead gorgeous… and a damn good kisser.

\--

Once his lips were freed, Byakuya hissed "You may not address me that way." 

"Aww, don’t be like that. Lovey-dovey lovers, recall?" Byakuya pursed his lips but didn’t respond otherwise and let his lips be captured once more.

A few heated kisses later - Byakuya’s arms had wound themselves around Renji’s waist - Renji leaned forward to whisper huskily right into Byakuya’s ear, secretly reveling in the resulting tremor "Oh, and remember: Yer in this for the long run, honey."

\--

They would kill each other, Byakuya was sure of it. He wouldn’t last ten minutes. He couldn’t do this, it was a mystery how he had ever thought he could. They were just too different; it was not even like Renji was on a different page in the proverbial book. He was in a different _library_ , entirely.

And he seemed to be enjoying this immensely, judging by the disgustingly attractive grin that currently threatened to split his face.

Very well. Two could play that game.

Instead of rising to Renji’s obvious taunt, he tightened his grip around the other‘s middle, drawing him in for another heated kiss, teasing open his mouth to plunge inside, plundering every nook and cranny, rubbing tongue against teeth, against tongue until he felt Renji melt into him, groaning.

Byakuya smirked and, without freeing Renji’s mouth, let his hands roam between them, wandering over tan, taunt muscles, rubbing over a defined stomach until reaching nipples begging to be teased. Which he did, gleefully so. Renji was moaning freely by now. The noble released Renji’s mouth in favor of latching his lips onto the other’s neck, alternating between suckles and gentle bites. One hand let go of a nipple to wander lower, stroking abs, sliding along hip bone, touch light and teasing.

\--

And then it clicked with Renji. "Woah, easy there. Who said I was the bottom?" Byakuya stopped his ministrations and furrowed his brows. "It is the most apparent choice," he provided, voice that of a teacher addressing a particularly slow student. "Nah, no way, cowboy. I ain’t no uke." Byakuya gave him a _look_. "Neither am I."

Had he mentioned how there was someone out there set on making his life entertainment?

"And now what?" Byakuya let out a small sigh and took a step back, letting his hands fall to his sides. "I surmise a platonic relationship would not work for you?"

"Damn straight." Renji hesitated. "We could take turns?" He suggested slowly but as soon as the words had left his mouth, he realized their stupidity. One glance at Byakuya confirmed it. There was no way that wouldn‘t end in a bloodbath.

"Then what, we gonna compete for it? Like, I don’t know, rock-paper-scissors?" The look Byakuya threw him could only be called skeptical. "While I consent to deciding this matter with a contest, why Janken? It is a game of chance." Renji grinned. "Exactly. Which means it‘ll be fairer that pretty much everything else we come up with." Especially since involving a referee wasn‘t exactly an option.

Depressed by his own line of argument, at least Byakuya seemed to see his point. "So be it." Renji crowed inwardly. He’d see _the_ Kuchiki Byakuya play Janken, something not many others had achieved before him, he was sure.

He took on a broader stance, putting some back into it, and hid a hand behind himself, looking expectantly at his counterpart who hesitated before imitating his poise.

"Jan – ken – shai/go!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who´s bottoming...


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter for now, though I may add an additional one in the future, should I feel like it.

Byakuya felt his heart sink to the bottom of a deep, deep sea. Or a bottomless pit, either, really. This was how it had to be like to stand on the brink of abyss, peering into the eternal darkness and having no choice but to take that last step forward.

Nonsense. He was Kuchiki Byakuya. He had overcome each and every obstacle placed in his way and he’d weather this as well. He would not, for the life of him, go back on his word. Even if it meant handing his body over to one Abarai Renji.

He wanted to cry.

\--

It took everything Renji had not to crack up at the look on Byakuya‘s face, but he wasn‘t stupid – deal or not, that would ruin any chance he had at screwing the other. He already looked barely a step away from backing out, and now that it was a real possibility, Renji realized that this was something he wanted. Badly.

So, amusement swallowed back, he took a step forward to wrap Byakuya in another hug, getting a beautifully realistic impression of what it must feel like to hug a statue. "Looks like I’ve won."

"I see you have retained your habit for stating the obvious." That should probably have come out as snippy but sounded dejected more than anything. Byakuya looked plain miserable, like a cat left standing in the rain, and this time Renji couldn’t suppress the low chuckle that rumbled in his chest. He nuzzled at Bykauya’s head. "Don’t worry, I’ll take real good care of ya."

The statement didn’t seem to make Byakuya feel one bit better, though, and Renji chuckled again. "Aw, come on. Stop looking like you‘re about to be tortured." Byakuya just pressed his lips together and turned his head to the side, signaling that he’d keep his word but didn’t like the turn of events one bit.

Oh, he was so gonna make Byakuya enjoy this.

Good thing they were already in Byakuya’s bedroom. He unwound his arms and grabbed the other’s hand instead, leading (dragging) Byakuya to the ridiculously oversized bed. It was practically begging for another person (Renji) to co-occupy it. Like, permanently.

He began lowering them onto the futon, effectively cutting off any protest by sealing the noble‘s mouth shut.

Looked like the other didn‘t intend go down without a fight, which, totally fine by him. It would make victory just that much sweeter.

Practically ravaging Byakuya’s mouth, Renji started the process of undressing the noble. That part turned out to be much more difficult than it should have been, partly because of Byakuya‘s ridiculous amount of layers combined with Renji‘s clumsy nature, and partly because Byakuya seemed to have made it his goal to see Renji naked first.

And so, before he knew it, Renji was spread out on the futon in all his glory with a not nearly as naked Byakuya on top of him, insistently pressing into his mouth.

"Oi."

He elbowed Byakuya gently in the ribs. Byakuya grunted and pulled away to stare down at him darkly, which worked, except not at all because of the huge flush coloring his cheeks.

"Aren‘t you forgettin‘ something? I beat you, I get to do you." He accentuated his statement with a good squeeze of a handful of noble ass, causing the owner of said ass‘ eyes to nearly pop out of his head.

It was fucking hilarious. So Renji did it again, just for good measure. "Get your sexy ass down here."

Indignation flashed in Byakuya‘s eyes, and Renji lifted his free hand to tenderly, soothingly stroke over a pink cheek, from cheekbone to throat and back, enjoying the way slate eyes slid closed, Byakuya leaning into the touch almost inconceivably.

Teasing was fun and all but humiliating wouldn‘t do. This wasn‘t some kind of twisted way to dominate Byakuya where he could‘t at work and he needed Byakuya to know as much.

He sneaked the hand still on Byakuya‘s ass higher, getting a proper hold of Byakuya and flipping them around so he was the one towering over Byakuya while still lying beside him. No need to weigh the other down to the point of his limbs falling asleep.

He took a second to properly soak in the view in front of him. Byakuya‘s cheeks were flushed, his lips swollen from kissing, breathing slightly labored, and that not just from nerves, his hair laying fanned out behind him on the futon.

He looked absolutely gorgeous and Renji told him as much, watching with fascination as he turned a darker shade of red.

"Don‘t," he whined when Byakuya turned to hide his face in the pillow. "I wanna see you." He cradled Byakuya‘s face in both of his hands, stroking over hot cheeks with his thumbs, and kissed him sweetly, like their first kiss should have been. He continued to pepper Byakuya‘s lips, his face, his neck with soft little kisses while he undressed him fully. He took his time, exploring the body spread out before him, relishing every tremor, every little breathy inhale he managed to coax out of the usually tight-lipped man.

Soon enough, Byakuya was completely bare, too and Renji started to trail kisses down his chest, paying special attention to the perked nubs there, continuing down to Byakuya‘s navel.

\--

Byakuya was determined not to let any of the horrifying noises building inside his chest spill out into the room. It was bad enough that he was subjected to the other‘s whim, was completely at Renji‘s mercy, he would most certainly not debase himself even further, would not give Renji that kind of satisfaction.

And he would most certainly not _beg_.

Then Renji started doing obscene things to his navel.

\--

Renji dipped his tongue into Byakuya‘s navel, and Byakuya let loose a loud moan. "You are a brute, Abarai Renji." He bared his teeth at Renji. "Get this over with already."

Renji tilted his head back, pretending to think about it before he smirked. "Nah, don‘t think so, babe. Not until you give me more noise." With that he leaned back down, ignoring the frustrated noise coming from above.

Byakuya holding back just wouldn‘t do. He wanted to hear the man‘s voice, wanted to hear what he sounded like when drowning in pleasure, wanted to learn what sounds he made in the throes of passion. He‘d wanted this for for so fucking long, now he wanted to see Byakuya break, to see him lose control completely.

Oh, and he would get what he wanted, he‘d make sure of it.

He nuzzled the flesh beneath Byakuya‘s stomach, worked himself down to the hip and let his teeth graze over a protruding hipbone before softly biting into the inner side of a creamy thigh.

\--

All the while, Byakuya desperately tried to keep himself in check - less and less successfully so. And, to his disdain, he found himself slowly forgetting as to why exactly it was important to do so.

And then everything became white when Renji‘s mouth closed over his erection.

Byakuya shouted out.

\--

Renji hummed appreciatively, wringing another moan from Byakuya. Then he started bobbing his head up and down, careful to keep his teeth in check.

Bad memories, right there.

It seemed to be working; by the sounds of it, Byakuya was getting more and more lost and, by the time Renji had taken to merely suckling on the tip, Byakuya was trashing his head from side to side, fingers clawed into the sheets, knuckles white. He was muffling his voice against the bed sheets, though that wasn‘t doing much.

Time to take it a step further.

He released Byakuya‘s cock with a wet pop. "Byakuya." He tried the name on the tip of his tongue. "You have any lube?"

He really ought to look the man in the face when asking a question but damn if Byakuya‘s cock hadn‘t just twitched.

"Byakuya." It twitched again, and Byakuya groaned weakly.

Oh my God, Byakuya had a name fetish. And that had absolutely no business being as hot as it was. And like he‘d ever be able to call the other by name again without getting a raging hard-on now.

"Drawer," Byakuya panted. "What?" Oh, right, _lube_. Renji reached over to the little bedside drawer and retrieved a small bottle of massage oil. He opened it and took a sniff. Lavender. "Do you always get turned on by people calling your name?"

He probably deserved that death glare. 

He shrugged. "That‘s a _no_ then." He poured a liberal amount of the liquid onto one hand. "Does that make me special?"

Byakuya looked at him like he‘d grown two horns and a mask. "No, Renji. This is my idea of a joke."

"Hmm, yeah, I think you‘re having plenty of fun right here." Renji brushed lightly over Byakuya‘s angry, leaking cock. That must be getting painful.

Byakuya arched into the caress, and Renji grinned. Then he dropped the oil-covered hand between the other‘s thighs and stroked a slick finger over his entrance.

And immediately, Byakuya‘s whole body was as stiff as a board and, yeah, no, that wasn‘t working.

"You know it‘s physically impossible to get between someone‘s legs without actually _getting in between them_? You‘ll need to give me a bit of space to work with, here."

Byakuya ground his teeth together and, by the looks of it, slowly, deliberately relaxed the muscles in his thighs to part them.

Ok, different approach, then. Renji could‘t fit his hand between that, let alone his whole body.

He lay down behind Byakuya, drawing the tense form flush against himself so that Byakuya‘s back was resting against his chest. He stroked up and down the other‘s side soothingly.

"Have you done this before?"

Byakuya, though that should be impossible, tensed up even more, and Renji sighed. "You oughta tell me that sorta thing. How can I take care of you if you don‘t?´ Byakuya didn‘t grace that with an answer either and neither did he relax. Instead, he turned away from Renji even more, hiding his face completely.

The way this was going he might just as well have tortured Byakuya. Great. Just great. 

Renji sighed again. They‘d definitively have to work on that, that mystic little thing called communication. Aloud he said, "Relax. There‘s no way I‘d hurt you deliberately. You know that, right?" He waited until he felt Byakuya nod slightly into the sheets before getting his finger down there a second time.

He ran a finger along the crack, rubbing over Byakuya‘s hole, massaging until he felt Byakuya follow his instruction and relax. That was the moment he pushed his finger inside. Byakuya gasped softly but didn‘t tense up again. Taking that as a cue to continue, Renji started rocking the digit in and out, rubbing at the vulnerable inner walls between rocks, all the while pressing gentle kisses onto Byakuya‘s neck and murmuring soothingly into Byakuya‘s ear. "Doing so good. That‘s it, exactly like that. Breathe with me."

Soon, he was able to add a second finger and then a third, curling them in what he knew was just the right direction. And true enough, Byakuya jolted and cried out in surprise. "Your prostate," Renji explained, while massaging the little bulb, causing Byakuya to make the most amazing sounds.

\--

Byakuya didn‘t know what was happening anymore. This was nothing like the white-hot pleasure release usually was accompanied with. This pleasure was slower, coiling low in his gut, more grounded, yet not lacking anything in passion, rolling over him one intense wave after another until he didn‘t know where he ended and the pleasure began.

\--

Byakuya was rocking back on his fingers now, so Renji decided that he was stretched enough and drew his fingers out, getting himself into position. He slowly started to push in, mindful of Byakuya‘s body language, watching out for any signs of discomfort. When the head of his dick disappeared into Byakuya, he let out a hiss at the intrusion, and Renji kissed his back apologetically. "Does that hurt?"

"No. It just feels... uncomfortable." Byakuya‘s voice was _raw_ , a smallness and vulnerability to it that Renji‘d never been allowed to witness before, and he continued to push in, stopping whenever it was getting too much for Byakuya, letting his hands wander over the other‘s body in soothing touches, and then he was bottoming out, one last push and he was fully seated inside the noble‘s body.

Byakuya whimpered quietly, and Renji hushed him, hands stroking over his face, his hair. "I got you. You‘re alright."

And then he moved, and Byakuya was lost entirely.

\--

Renji hit that spot within him again and again, the one that sent little sparks of pleasure pulsing through his body, and at some point Renji must have pulled out and rolled him onto his back because now Renji was settled between his legs, but that was okay because Byakuya was flying.

\--

Renji had been careful not to bee too rough with Byakuya, it being his first time and all, but those sounds Byakuya was making together with that look of complete rapture were tearing hard on his self-control, and when Byakuya began pushing up to meet his thrusts, his control snapped and he started to pound into Byakuya, literally fucking him into the mattress.

And Byakuya didn‘t complain. Anything but, in fact. A particularly well-angled thrust sent him over the edge and he came – dick untouched – shouting Renji‘s name. Renji followed not far behind, and by the time he did, Byakuya‘d been reduced to a puddle.

Renji pulled out carefully – Byakuya wincing – and he lay beside the noble, drawing him in an embrace, wiping away the tears and murmuring sweet nothings. There might have been an "I love you" in there somewhere. There might even have been a whispered reply.

They stayed like that for a long time, and Renji had begun to drift off when Byakuya‘s voice tugged him back.

"Next time I will be on top."

Well, if that hadn‘t been a short-lived victory. Seemed like this relationship was gonna be full of struggles, but, hey, where was the fun otherwise?

And _the incident_ , the kiss?

Best. Idea. Ever.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This time, it really is the last chapter. This only got written because some of you were so kind as to push me to do it. Thanks for reading!

No one would ever really grasp the relationship between the captain of the sixth division and his lieutenant. Not from lack of trying, that much was sure.

On one hand, there was the ever proper Kuchiki Byakuya (one could call him stuck-up but that would result in the removal of limbs), the impersonation of stoicism and diligence, and then there was always late, crude Abarai Renji, to whom manners were some sort of foreign dish. They were about as different as they came, and that‘s how much they got along.

When it had become known that the two of them were an item, it had created an initial wave of shock and denial. Because, well, _Kuchiki Byakuya and Abarai Renji_. But eventually, everyone had come to accept the turn of events, the rumor mill dying down. And soon, one couldn‘t be pictured without the other and Renji became known as the only man in the Seireitei to call Kuchiki Byakuya names to his face without so much as getting a raised eyebrow for it.

There was definitively entertainment to be found in the whole situation. There was nothing quite like a red-faced Kuchiki-Taichou when Renji engaged him in a supposedly quick kiss but turned it into a small make out session instead. And that had been another thing everyone had had to learn, mostly the hard way: Even if Renji openly poked fun at Byakuya on a regular basis, he was the only one allowed to do so.

The division itself had been running a lot smoother since the two men at its top had settled into their little _arrangement_. It turned out withholding of sex was an excellent way to get even an Abarai Renji to start on his paper work.

Said Abarai Renji was currently binging on strawberry cake with a certain human strawberry.

\--

"I mean come _on_. Jus‘ the fact that he can sit still for _hours_. Literally. I‘ve tested it." Renji gestured wildly for maximum impact, but Ichigo, traitor that he was, just looked at him skeptically.

"And you‘re sure you two are a couple?"

Renji sighed, a little exasperated. "Yes, Ichigo. For the hundredth time." And for the hundredth time, Ichigo looked anything but convinced. And that although _he_ ´d been the one that had profited most from his relationship with Byakuya. Ungrateful urchin should remember just who´d been the one to explain to Byakuya exactly _why_ it was a bad idea to reduce Ichigo to confetti-sized pieces once the noble‘d found out about him and Rukia. It had been a damn close call.

Rukia, for her part, had first been pretty weirded out about ‘her brother and her best friend getting it on‘ but eventually, she´d calmed down enough to retreat to her (Ichigo‘s) room and draw pictures starring the two of them, the color pink, and lots of bunnies. (Quality of a five-year old, Ichigo´d said. He‘d nursed that bump for weeks.)

"So," Ichigo said, tearing Renji from his thoughts. "You think we should just... tell him?"

Renji grimaced but nodded. He scratched at his arm absently. "It‘s not like he‘s gonna take well to the news anyways. Better break it to him directly. Like ripping off a plaster."

Ichigo eyed him suspiciously. "You sure you don‘t just want to pay me back for not telling you?"

Renji‘s grin became sharper. "Would I do that?" Ichigo nodded enthusiastically. The grin momentarily bled into a snarl, then Renji put on a serious face. "You wanted my advice, here you have it." Ichigo opened his mouth, but Renji cut him off. "And no, I won‘t tell him for you. You‘ll have to do that yourself."

"Or send Rukia," he added comfortingly at Ichigo‘s kicked puppy expression. He _did_ feel sorry for the guy, just not enough to double-cross his lover. And he might still be feeling a teeny bit touchy at not getting clued-in on their relationship up until they‘d gone and gotten fucking _engaged_. And then they‘d had the guts to give _Byakuya and him_ shit.

\--

"Hey sleepless beauty," Renji greeted once he‘d climbed through Byakuya‘s bedroom window. Which was more like a door, really. "Heard the news, then, about the wedding being moved up?"

Byakuya didn‘t answer, didn‘t even open his eyes, but he didn‘t need to. Renji‘d gotten so used to reading him by now that he easily detected the signs. Byakuya was fucking _livid_.

He shrugged out of his clothes and climbed into bed beside the noble, scooting closer until he was pressed flush against the other‘s back and he could comfortably throw an arm around the raven‘s middle.

Renji was half asleep by the time Byakuya finally talked.

"I will kill him."

Renji sleepily pecked him on one bare shoulder. "Nah, you won‘t."

"I could convert him into diminutive pieces. Nobody would be able to identify him," Byakuya said hopefully.

"Don‘t. Think of the servants. It‘d make for one nasty clean-up."

Byakuya sighed, long and sufferable. "I have no choice but to accept this, do I?"

Renji pecked him on the other shoulder, slowly waking up again. "Yeah." He grinned. "Which doesn‘t mean you can‘t make things hell for them. T‘ least for little while."

He couldn‘t see Byakuya‘s face from his angle, but he knew that if he checked, he‘d find a small smile plastered upon it.

\--

Renji yanked the tie from his neck and collapsed onto the bed. "Jesus, that was _hell_ ," he complained, stretching out. "Did you see how Yoruichi tried to eat the wedding cake all the way through the ceremony? And Ichigo‘s face when he noticed Urahara‘s transformed the rings into some kinda spiritual tools was fucking _hilarious_." He laughed loudly, then lifted his head off the futon when Byakuya didn‘t join in, and saw Byakuya standing in the middle of the room, radiating misery.

"Aww, come on. Don‘t look like that. Just ‘cause she got married doesn‘t mean she‘ll stop being your sister." Byakuya flinched guiltily. Bull‘s eye, huh. He peeled himself off the bed and walked over to wrap the noble in a tight hug. He leaned down towards Byakuya‘s ear, trying hard – and failing big time – to keep the laughter out of his voice. "And even if, don‘t worry. You‘ve still got _me_. You ain‘t gettin‘ rid of me that easily, babe."

Instead of rolling his eyes or batting at him, Byakuya looked up with an expression Renji couldn‘t place. He raised an eyebrow, and when Byakuya didn‘t speak up, he tugged at the noble‘s tie, slowly starting to undress the man. Once he was done with Byakuya, he stripped himself before moving them towards the bed, coaxing Byakuya onto the incredibly soft futon, arranging them so that the noble was lying on top, pressed against him from chest to toe.

He playfully nipped at Byakuya‘s bottom lip, licking at the soft, sensitive flesh. Byakuya opened his mouth, but when Renji made to take him up on the offer, he pulled away enough to speak, his breath ghosting lightly over Renji‘s cheeks. "Are you coddling me, Abarai Renji?"

"Wouldn‘t dream of it, Sir," Renji retorted, cocky grin in place and still not making any move to take charge. Byakuya _did_ roll his eyes at that. And then he kissed Renji like it was the last time,  _ravaging_ him.

After a few minutes of increasingly filthier kisses, Byakuya reached out blindly to retrieve a package of lube. Without breaking their kiss, he ripped it open, and they were engulfed in a cloud of chocolate-flavor.

Byakuya made a face, pulling back enough so that Renji could see his wrinkled nose. "I liked the last one better," he muttered, voice dripping with disgust. Renji shrugged. It was something of a joke between the two of them to bring back heaps of differently flavored lube every time one of them made a trip to the human world, to keep things interesting, so the speak.

"I kinda like it. And it‘s way better than that strawberry-flavored one." Byakuya shuddered at the memory. Renji pulled him back down for another bruising kiss, gasping into the noble‘s mouth when long, slick fingers slid into him, preparing him with practiced ease.

The fingers jabbed his prostate dead-on, and Renji yelled, scowling when Byakuya looked down at him smugly. "Yeah, yeah, you did that on purpose. Now get inside me or I‘m gonna leave you behind."

The noble didn‘t need to be told twice. He thrust in, seating himself in one swift motion, punching all the air out of Renji‘s lungs in the process. Before he had time to regain his composure, Byakuya began to pound into him, his hips snapping forward forcefully.

Renji bit back the sounds as well as he could, but he knew a losing battle when he saw (or experienced) one. Still, stubbornness made him hold out until Byakuya, apparently having none of it, bent his leg, changing the angle and now hitting his good spot with every punishing thrust.

It was all Renji could do to hang on. He screamed, thrashing, his hands scrambling for purchase and babbling incoherently, praying to God, some other deities, and he was pretty sure Byakuya, too.

He reached for his cock which was ready to cut diamonds, but Byakuya batted his hand away. Renji´d suspected that‘d happen, but he still whined unhappily. Byakuya made a low rumbling noise of approval at the back of his throat before picking up his pace.

He thrust forward one last time, shoving Renji up the bed with the sheer force of it, keeping himself buried as deeply as physically possible and what felt like much, much deeper, and staying there, grinding slowly until Renji felt warmth fill him up at the same time as everything became white with pleasure.

\--

"Are you alright?" Byakuya‘s voice had a breathless ring to it and Renji nodded, not quite capable of speech just yet. Instead, he turned his head to press a sloppy kiss to the noble‘s jaw. Byakuya rolled off him with a quiet huff and they stayed like that for a long, rare moment of silence. Uncharacteristically, Byakuya was the one to break it.

"Rukia‘s situation was not the only issue occupying my mind earlier," he said matter-of-factly.

"Oh?"

"I was wondering if there was a possibility... we would ever..." he continued, hesitancy creeping into his voice.

Well, _that_ got Renji´s attention. He propped himself up on one elbow so he could look down into the other‘s face. "Kuchiki Byakuya, are you asking me to _marry_ you?"

Byakuya looked shocked. And like he was panicking. He stared at Renji, wide-eyed and mouth a little open. Then, slowly, a blush spread across his nose, blooming on his cheeks and extending as far as his ears. It was fucking adorable.

"I–I–" the noble stammered, and Renji‘d never seen Kuchiki Byakuya at a loss for words.

He shut him up with a kiss.

"‘Course I will," he murmured against silky lips, and Byakuya just sort of sagged.

\--

They were wrapped around each other so tightly they might as well be trying to crawl under the other‘s skin, and Renji wouldn‘t have it any other way. He was perfectly content to lie there, sweaty and sticky, with his fiancé. His fucking fiancé. That would take some getting used to. But then, they had the rest of their lives to do just that.

"Renji?"

"Hn?"

"I‘ll be the groom. I was the one to propose to you, after all."


End file.
